58 THE AMERICAN FOXHOUND 



One was black, white and tan, and the other black and tan. 

 They were nearly twenty-six inches and racily built. Brave was 

 the greatest bench show winner of the strain, while Mr. Cook 

 considered Whoopey the best all-round worker. In a letter to a 

 New England fox-hunter he states that he sent Wlioopey to a 

 friend in Texas, who was to hunt him on wolves, and against all 

 the noted foxhounds in the state at the time. The Texas fox- 

 hounds represented all the leading strains in the country, and 

 there were thirty -five of them, all experienced hunters on 

 wolves, while Whoopey had never seen one. He emphatically 

 says in this letter that "Whoopey took the lead and widened the 

 space between himself and the other hounds more and more, as 

 the chase progressed, until he finally overhauled and killed the 

 wolf before the second dog was up." He further says that after 

 this Whoopey made the circuit of the state and "came back 

 with a clean record and without a single defeat." 



This seems remarkable to those who know what kind of 

 hounds the Texans have. It must be remembered, however, that 

 the accounts were wi'itten to Mr. Cook by enthusiastic friends, 

 and lie merely reiterates their statements. There can be no 

 doubt but that Whoopey was a remarkable all-round hound, and 

 it is greatly to Mr. Cook's credit that he should have bred him. 

 I hunted many times with Drive, Queen and Modest Girl. 

 Drive was an excellent hunter and starter, and when the fox was 

 up, drove fast and clean for several hours, after which his lack 

 of endurance became evident and the slower, but tougher, New 

 England hounds then caught up to and held him. His voice was 

 magnificent, and rang out in such clarion tones as one seldom 

 hears in these days. Queen was a nice all-round bitch, not as 

 fast as Drive, but with more leather and endurance, and stood 

 up well under a six or eight hour's hard run. Modest Girl left 

 New England before she was well trained and developed in the 

 hunting field , her excellent conformation making it more profit- 

 able to send her on the bench show circuit. 



Besides Champion Brave and Modest Girl, there were many 

 other noted bench show winners in this strain, notably among 

 which were Champion Roderick and Champion Spotty. It is a 

 pity, and a distinct distinct loss to the foxhound family, that 

 this good strain should have practically disappeared. Mr. A. 

 McDonald, of Rockland, Me., previously mentioned, in the de- 

 scendants of Queen, still has some of the Cook blood in his 



